


𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨 🁡 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎℎ𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑟’𝑠 𝐺𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑥𝑦

by Adrenalineshots, sonshineandshowers, TheFibreWitch



Series: Domino 🁡 [24]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst, Assault, Bullying, Case Fic, Digital Art, Drug Experimentation, Drug Use, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hallucinations, Harassment, Health Emergency, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Mental Health Issues, Metafiction, Murder Mystery, Nightmares, Surrealism, Teenage Bright, Trauma, Unreliable Narrator, Video, a lot of really strange stuff that happens in altered states of consciousness, anxiousness, reader-driven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:08:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26504176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adrenalineshots/pseuds/Adrenalineshots, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonshineandshowers/pseuds/sonshineandshowers, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFibreWitch/pseuds/TheFibreWitch
Summary: Selecting 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎℎ𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑟’𝑠 𝐺𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑥𝑦 from the bookshelf, Malcolm travels through his own mind.Read this story at:https://www.thedominostory.com/#the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxyThis book is one part of the Domino series. If you have not yet read thePrefaceorIntroduction, please head there first.
Relationships: Gil Arroyo/Jessica Whitly
Series: Domino 🁡 [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926451
Collections: Domino 🁡, Prodigal Son Big Bang 2020 - Saturday Posts





	𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨 🁡 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎℎ𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑟’𝑠 𝐺𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑥𝑦

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jameena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jameena/gifts), [MissScorp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissScorp/gifts), [ProcrastinatingSab](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProcrastinatingSab/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/685351) by Douglas Adams. 



> This book is one part of the Domino series. If you have not yet read the [Preface](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26497927/chapters/64577434#workskin) or [Introduction](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26497927/chapters/64588537#workskin), please head there first.
> 
> Betaed by the wonderful [Jameena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jameena/), [MissScorp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissScorp/), and [ProcrastinatingSab](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProcrastinatingSab/).
> 
> Credit to the creators and their works that inspired and were referenced in this work:  
>  **— Inspiration:**[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_\(novel\)) \- Douglas Adams  
>  **— Cover Song:**[Papageno Papagena](https://youtu.be/yNuM9Z4MEQw) \- The Magic Flute Soundtrack

[](https://www.thedominostory.com/images/full/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy.jpg) |   
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The shadow of Martin Whitly's actions was so long reaching that even with a whole ocean between them, Malcolm seemed unable to escape the darkness it cast.

His mother had thought it a good idea to send her son away from the States, to a boarding school run by an old friend of the Milton's, in England. Like with so many other decisions made after the imprisonment of his father, she had been wrong.

It was a move that would have worked when the boarding school initially opened its doors, back in 1587, when letters and information took over a year to travel between continents. At the tail end of the twentieth century, when information was one click away in everyone's computer, there was nowhere on Earth Malcolm could hide.

It took his classmates all of two weeks to figure out who the skinny boy with an American accent was.

“You don't want to go to your room right now.”

Malcolm looked from the hand wrapped around his wrist to the face of the boy it belonged to. Big, warm, brown eyes stared at him with a hint of concern. “Again?” he simply asked, pulling his arm away. Two times now, he had arrived to find his room completely turned upside down, his belongings scattered halfway across the corridor and streams of shaving cream — where on earth thirteen-year-olds were getting that much shaving cream — decorating the furniture like a Christmas tree.

“We're in a boarding school in the middle of nowhere,” the other boy said with a shrug. “There's only so much one can do to entertain themselves.”

Malcolm looked between the strange boy and the path that would lead him to his bedroom. The second time it had happened, he had caught them in the act, two boys from his class and one, their older brother. At least, he was pretty sure that two of them were brothers. They had sounded pretty similar as they insulted him and punched him in the face.

It was not an experience Malcolm was eager to repeat. “What do you usually do for fun?” he asked his benefactor.

The other boy's big eyes lit up with mischief. “Botany,” he replied, scrawny chest puffing out in pride. “Come, I'll show you.”

Malcolm took one last look at the place where his belongings were currently being destroyed before following the boy who had just saved him. “I'm Malcolm,” he said, offering a hand to shake, like his father had taught him. “Malcolm Whitly.”

“I know,” the boy replied with a wink. “I'm Vijay Chandasara,” he added. “But everyone just calls me VJ. Come on now!”

They sneaked out of the school grounds through a hole in the wall that every single kid knew about. On the other side was nothing but the surrounding woods.

“We're not supposed to go in there,” Malcolm reminded his new acquaintance.

VJ stopped, looking at him with an arched eyebrow. “Do you always do what you're supposed to do?” he offered as a challenge.

Malcolm bit his lip. He did always do as he was supposed to, because the one time he had done something he shouldn't, his father had been taken away by the police. On some level, he understood that other boys did not call 911 to tattle on their fathers, but then again, not all fathers were the same.

Truth was, he hadn't made a single friend since he had arrived and he was feeling lonely, missing his mother and baby sister. If his choice was to remain friendless or walk into those woods, he supposed he could make an exception. “Where are we going?” he asked, bravely stepping into the unknown.

“To my private little garden,” VJ said mysteriously. “Trust me, you're gonna love it!”

Malcolm eyed him skeptically. It had occurred to him that VJ could be just one more boy trying to make fun of him or beat him up because his father was a serial killer in the States. He could even be luring him to a trap in the middle of the woods so no one would be able to help him and Malcolm would end up feeling very dumb for following him so willingly.

Even if that wasn't the case, Malcolm wasn't terribly fond of plants and flowers. All the Latin names they had to decorate were terribly boring and paled in comparison to the Latin names his father had taught him. There would never be a plant with a name as funny as Gluteus Maximus, which usually sent him into a fit of giggles.

Only, his father was a monster now, and Malcolm had to forget everything he had learned from him. Or else he would be a monster, too.

“We're here!” VJ announced proudly.

Malcolm looked around. ' _Here_ ' was an empty space in between three tall trees and a rock, the ground covered in tall ferns and dead grass. “Very funny,” he said, annoyed. Truth was, Malcolm was scared and starting to realize he had made a terrible mistake. A cold feeling, like he hadn't felt since the night his father was arrested, took over his stomach, making him feel sick. “I'm going back!” he announced, sounding more brave than he felt.

Again, VJ grabbed him by the wrist, preventing him from walking away. “I didn't bring you here to mock you, I promise,” he said, his eyes flooded with honesty. “Look!”

Malcolm had a hard time believing his words. Still, he followed VJ's finger to where it was pointing down. On the ground, hidden from view by the tall ferns, he could see something brownish with a cone-shaped top. “Mushrooms?”

VJ's smile could have lit up an entire room. “Ah! But not just any mushrooms! These babies are of the lovely _Psilocybe Semilanceata_ variety!” he announced proudly. He deflated somewhat at Malcolm's blank stare. “Liberty caps? Magic shrooms?”

Malcolm reacted then. Magic mushrooms sounded like the most amazing thing on Earth. His father had once read him a book about a little girl who followed a rabbit down a hole and ate some mushrooms to grow really, really tall. Malcolm wanted to be tall.

“Not that kind of magic,” VJ pointed out. Malcolm startled, thinking that maybe he had spoken out loud. Or that VJ had read his mind, but the other boy was busy on his knees, picking up mushrooms like they were precious stones. “Think less _Alice in Wonderland_ and more like...” he paused, looking for the right analogy. “Intergalactic space travel!”

It was Malcolm's turn to arch an eyebrow. “You're telling me that this fungus will make us travel through space? Without a spaceship?”

VJ smiled knowingly. “Exactly! Come on, Whitly, what do you say we escape this shitty reality and head for the next one?”

The idea sounded wonderful, to be completely honest. In this reality, Malcolm was a scrawny, short boy, living in constant fear of what others might do when they realized who he was and what his father had done. VJ, on the other hand, didn't seem all that bothered by that knowledge and was even willing to take Malcolm on this amazing trip.

The mushroom felt icky and spongy as Malcolm took a bite. It tasted so bad that he nearly spat it out.

“Think of it as truffles,” VJ suggested, licking his fingers as he finished his.

Comparing it to something that smelled of dirty old socks and looked like a turd did not make things easier, no matter what VJ thought. Still, Malcolm forced himself to swallow. And wait. “We're still here,” he said after a few minutes of absolutely nothing happening.

“Patience, Whitly,” VJ replied sagely, sitting down to lean against one of the trees. “Patience.”

Ten minutes later, Malcolm finally felt it. The whole ground started shaking and he suddenly felt weightless, as if his body was filled with hot air like a balloon. “I'm floating!” he screamed, excited.

He was going higher and higher, leaving the ground far behind. So high that even Earth was falling behind until it was nothing but a blue pinprick in the middle of the black sky. VJ was right beside him, smiling widely, his eyes the size of hockey pucks. “What did I tell you, Whitly?”

“This is awesome!” Malcolm let out, happier than he had felt in a very long time. He knew he should be scared, that he should be trying to go back to his planet, but there was the whole universe right there, waiting to be explored.

A star shot right past him, leaving behind a trail of diamonds. Malcolm reached out with his hand, residual heat making his fingers tingle. At a distance, he could see the rings of Saturn, a cotton candy of colors, seven, like a rainbow, floating around the giant planet. He wanted nothing more than to walk on those rings, feel his toes sink in that sweet fluffiness. “Come on! Let's go!” he called out to his new friend.

VJ followed him willingly, skipping over the shiny stars like they were stepping stones across a river.

They stopped at the edge of the asteroids' belt. Unlike the rest of the space around them, it felt menacing and cold. Sharp rocks the size of cars and tall buildings floated erratically ahead of them, as far as the eye could see.

“Maybe we should go back,” VJ suggested, taking a step backward. He looked scared, flinching away every time a rock came closer.

“Trust me,” Malcolm said, returning the same words that had brought him there. They were so close now, there was no way he was going to allow a few rocks to stop him.

Taking a deep breath, VJ nodded, stepping forward with Malcolm. They figured out that the best way to walk through the asteroids' field was to jump from one to the next, like mountain goats, climbing up and up and up until they reached the sky.

Malcolm looked at the asteroid closest to them. It was huge, the size of a football stadium. He took a couple of steps back, ready to sprint and jump. As his feet were about to leave solid ground, he heard it. _My boy..._

Concentration lost, Malcolm hurtled through space, limbs flying left and right, missing the asteroid completely. He landed on another with a painful jolt, his arm trapped underneath him. He heard something _snap_ , but it never occurred to him that it might have been his bone. Instead, he was looking for his father.

He was sure he had heard him.

“Are you okay?” VJ asked, landing gracefully by his side.

Malcolm managed to get to his feet. “I'm fine!” His arm, limp by his side, refused to obey any of his commands. “I think my arm is staging a mutiny,” he let out, giggling at the thought.

“I think it's broken,” VJ pointed out with concern. “We need to come up with a good reason for being out here, or else the headmaster is going to kick us out!” he added, sounding downright panicked.

Malcolm frowned in confusion. “Only if we get back,” he pointed out. They were in the middle of the Milky Way… there were no headmasters there.

VJ grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking Malcolm a bit too harshly. It made his teeth rattle and his arm hurt a little bit. “I know you're high as a kite right now, but you need to focus, Whitly! Whatever you do, never mention the mushrooms or my presence, okay? Can you remember that?”

Malcolm smiled sweetly. “I remember, dad,” he replied obediently. “We're the same,” he repeated his father's words.

VJ shook his head, looking around for something. “Yeah… whatever,” he rushed out, pushing Malcolm down until he was sitting against one of the asteroids. “Just as long as my name isn't mentioned… I'll make it up to you, I promise, Whitly!”

And with that, VJ was gone.

Malcolm was found twenty-four hours later, on the side of a cliff. The school psychologist called it a psychotic break and suggested adjusting Malcolm's medication.

Still, despite the fact he couldn't quite remember what happened, Malcolm gained a _friend_.

— ◌◯◌ —

Checking his watch, Gil notices he's been gone long enough that Jessica won't give him a hard time for going back to the hospital. At least not for the duration of his time away. For what he did during it... he'll only share if she presses him.

"I'm heading back," Gil says, stopping at JT's desk. "See if you both can get in with the publisher. Need an insider to share the dynamics in the work environment."

"We were already thinking that, boss. Already started the calls."

Gil wouldn't expect any less — they can run a tight ship on their own. "Guess you really don't need me, huh?" He rolls his bottom lip under his top.

"We do."

Looking to the empty chair beside him, Gil asks, "Where's Powell?"

"Down in evidence with the books."

An entire collection of books he is very familiar with, yet somehow the information is not that useful at the same time. Dozens of tales of solving murder mysteries, yet none of them are the right one. It's like he's directing the action from a lifetime away, in a totally separate bubble from the rest of them. "How are you two doing?"

"As you probably expect." JT looks tired, but determination remains in his eyes. "You and Jessica?"

"The same. She's doing better than me, I think," Gil admits with a small puff of air of disbelief. He shouldn't be surprised, though — she's had to be the strong one for her family for much of her life.

"We'll stop by later — let us know if there's anything else we can do in the meantime."

"Try to get a few more hours sleep. Can't afford another mistake." He can’t worry about them getting into trouble while all of his focus is on Bright. Can’t let JT’s first foray into officially taking the lead end unsuccessfully.

"How about you do the same?"

"Touché," Gil responds and heads for the exit from the precinct.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Head back to the [Bookshelf](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26497927/chapters/64588570#workskin) to pick another book. :)


End file.
